Lost Jinchuuriki
by Ocean of the Moon
Summary: Seven years after the training trip with Jiraiya, things still aren't too good for Naruto. The villagers still see him as a threat and come close to killing him. Only an offer from the fox keeps him alive but now he is missing. Kanoha is searching...
1. Prologue

I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in forever. First I got writer's block; then I was banned from because I was in my senior year at high school. I was still writing though, I just had to handwrite everything before retyping them. I'll try to do better but it might be difficult as I am in college.

Again, I'm sorry!

Anyways, here's a new story that I've been working on. I hope you enjoy it.

**Full Summery: **

Seven years after the training trip with Jiraiya, things still aren't too good for Naruto. The villagers still see him as a threat and come close to killing him. Only an offer from the fox keeps him alive but now he is missing. Kanoha is searching, trying to find him before the Akatsuki finds him. With the help of two new faces in the village and six out, the remaining Kanoha 12 try to defeat the Akatsuki and find the ninth Jinchuuriki.

Note: Orochimaru and Oto has been destroyed; Sasuke returned to the village

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

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**Lost Jinchuuriki**

**Prologue**

All was quiet in the village of Konohagakure no Sato. The shinobi who were home from their missions for the fifth Hokage, the Slug Sannin, Tsunade, were resting without fear of being murdered in their sleep. All except for one just outside the village boundaries…

A lone figure, dressed mostly in black, struggled to get up off the forest floor. His breathing was ragged and he was bleeding all over. If anyone saw him now, they would think that he was probably an enemy ninja sent to spy on the Village Hidden in the Leaves and got caught. However, on his forehead was a hitae-ate with the symbol of the nearby village. He groaned, fighting to stay conscious when he heard a familiar voice.

'_{{Kit, are you alright?}}'_ The voice was worried which slightly amused the man. Never once in the first fifteen years of his life had he heard the owner of the voice sound anything but angry. Only in the last seven years were other emotions heard though concern was rare.

'_{You tell me, fox. I'm busy trying to get back to the village.}'_

'_{{Do you want the truth or should I lie?}}'_

'_{Truth.}'_

'_{{Alright…They nearly KILLED you, kit! We are __**still close to death**__ and need __**immediate**__ attention! You should have fought back! The Hokage would have understood!}}'_

'_{Maybe baa-san would have but then the village would hate me even more!'_ he snapped back. _'They wouldn't see a man defending himself; they would see __**you**__, Kyuubi no Kitsune!}'_

'_{{That's __**still**__ no reason for them to beat you to death!}}'_ the fox demon snapped back._ '{{And not all of the village would hate you! Your friends would stand with you, Uzumaki Naruto! You know that!}}'_

'_{I know! But they are a __**very small**__ part of the village! The people who hate me outnumber them __**fifty to one**__! __**You**__ know that!}'_

'_{{I know…but you shouldn't be beaten for something that wasn't your choice! The Fourth Hokage wanted them to see you as a __**hero**__!}}'_

"I know," Naruto whispered. The fox demon was startled by the man's soft tone. "I hate it, but I want them to accept me. But…they won't change their minds…"

'_{{Kit…?}}'_

"I don't want this life anymore. I'm tired of people looking my way and only seeing evil. I want to start my life over…but that's impossible."

'_{{…It might not be…}}'_

'_{Nani? What do you mean?}'_

'_{{…I can suppress your memories. It would not be the same as starting your life over but to you, it would be. I can also make it so that no one would recognize you.}}'_

'_{How?}'_

'_{{I can merge with you…it will turn you into a hanyou. If I do, you will have kitsune traits; speed, strength, stronger senses and others. It will also alter your appearance. But…if we merge, there is no turning back; we will be a hanyou forever.}}'_

'_{Aren't I already a hanyou?}'_

'_{{No, you are a human. I am a demon. We are separate beings in one body. But, if you allow me to, we will become one being.}}'_ The Kyuubi fell silent as she waited for the human who had been used as the container for her power to decide. It didn't take long for Naruto to decide.

'_{Do both.}'_

'_{{Alright kit…I hope that you will be truly happy…}}'_ the fox demon said before she began to merge with the man. Chakra levels began to increase but before anyone in the village could sense it, the man disappeared, leaving behind a hitae-ate with the symbol for the Village Hidden in the Leaves.


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

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**Chapter 1: A Kitsune's Disappearance**

Haruno Sakura was annoyed. One of her two former teammates, Uzumaki Naruto, had an appointment with the Hokage to give his mission report but he should have been here _three hours_ ago. One of the other shinobi who had participated in the mission, Hyuuga Neji, had stormed out two hours ago; supposedly to find the blond but had not yet returned.

"Where is that brat?" Sakura sighed. Lady Tsunade was going to kill the blond when he showed up.

'_No, she won't kill him,'_ the pink haired kunoichi amended. _'She'll just yell at him, with Naruto yelling back, for…an hour and a half.' _But she was getting worried. It was not like Naruto to be late and, according to Neji, he was fine. Just then, the door burst open, startling Sakura. At first, she thought it was Naruto, rushing in after noticing that he should have been here three hours ago, but it wasn't.

"Hokage-sama!" Neji yelled. Something was wrong for Neji to be yelling with no apparent cause. Tsunade must have felt so too, because she came running out.

"What is it, Neji?"

"Naruto's missing."

"WHAT? Are you positive?"

"Yes. I searched both the village and the surrounding area twice; once with my Byakugan. I found only this." He held out a familiar hitae-ate to the leader of the village. It was Naruto's hitae-ate. Sakura stared at it in disbelief; there was no way that was Naruto's, she must be mistaken. The Godaime looked the same way. Naruto reminded her of her dead brother; so much so that she thought of the boy as her brother. She didn't want to lose him.

"Sakura!" she barked. The girl jumped. "Get Kiba and Kakashi! Make sure that they know that this is an emergency! And tell Kakashi that if he's not here when you come back, I will put him in a Genjutsu that shows his greatest fear or worst memory for a full month!"

"Yes, Tsunade-sama," the kunoichi squeaked before disappearing. Not even five minutes had passed when Sakura returned. With her were two male Jounins. One was Hatake Kakashi, often called Kakashi of the Sharingan Eye because of the mirror wheel eye he hid under his hitae-ate. The other was Inuzuka Kiba, whose family could talk to dogs, with his partner, Akamaru.

"What's up, Tsunade?" Kakashi asked lazily. "Sakura said that it was an emergency but why were we the only ones summoned? And the threat wasn't necessary."

"With your punctuality record, it _was_ necessary! Now, shut up!" she snapped. Kakashi complied, wondering what in the nine hells had her on edge. He didn't have to wait long. "Naruto is missing."

"What?"

"The idiot is probably hiding from you. I think only the deafest in the village didn't hear you yelling earlier. No offence meant to either you or Naruto," Kiba said. Akamaru barked in agreement.

"That is possible but Neji searched the village with his Byakugan and only found this." She showed them the hitae-ate. The two humans stared at it while Akamaru sniffed it. After a moment, the large dog growled.

"What is it, Akamaru?" Kiba asked his friend. At the answer, the Jounin frowned. "May I please see the hitae-ate?" Tsunade nodded before handing the hitae-ate to the tan man. Like his partner did just a moment ago, he smelled the item, his frown deepening.

"There's blood on this. It's Naruto's blood," he reported.

Kakashi put out a hand for the hitae-ate and Kiba handed it to him without a word. The copy-nin inspected it for a moment before pushing his own hitae-ate up; revealing his Sharingan. The mirror wheel eye moved over the hitae-ate before it disappeared behind the scared eyelid. "The blood on this cloth is still a little damp. The blood covers almost half the cloth but mostly centers behind the metal. This happened very recently for the blood to be slightly damp. But we'll figure out why later; we need to find Naruto. Neji, please show us where you found this." The Hyuuga nodded before running out of the Hokage Tower with the other two Jounins close behind.

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The three Jounins ran out of the Hokage Tower into a nearby forest. Neji soon stopped in a clearing, saying, "I found it here." The other two nodded and began to search the area. Kakashi even summoned his ninja dogs to search for Naruto's scent. They found it but when they followed the trail, it led them back to the gates of Konoha.

Kiba growled in frustration as he searched the clearing once more, this time with his eyes. There was nothing on the ground but something glittered in the tree. Jumping up to the branch, he found it to be a kunai, blood staining the edges. More specifically, Naruto's blood. Besides the scent of Naruto's blood, there was a second scent on the blade. Probably the scent of the person who threw the blade at the foxy-boy.

Smirking slightly, he yelled, "Oi! Kakashi, Neji! I found something!" Both appeared at the base of the tree, looking at him expectantly. "There's a kunai up here with Naruto's blood on it. Maybe if we find who owns this blade, we can figure out where Naruto is."

Both nodded before Kakashi had his dogs get the scent and set them to find the man with that scent. They took off quickly, knowing immediately where to go. The three Jounins followed.

The ninja dogs tore through the village, ignoring the people who they upset. Their human also ignored the commotion, focused on his dogs and finding his former student. Ahead of them was a man trying to slip away without notice but the dogs stopped him by jumping on to him.

"Let me go, you mongrels!" The dogs did the exact opposite; biting the man until they drew blood. Kakashi let them use the man as a chew toy for a moment before he sent them home.

"Next time, it might be a better idea if you don't insult my dogs. I might not be an Inuzuka, but if they found out about you insulting a dog, they might not be too keen on helping you if you needed their help. Besides that, I have a hard time calling my dogs off if they take offence," he informed the man as he helped the man up. "Anyway, would you please come with us? We are looking for something and my dogs were leading us to someone who could help."

The silver haired Jounin appeared to be friendly but the two younger Jounins who had accompanied his felt an icy undercurrent in the words. The man didn't seem to notice the icy quality of the words, or if he did, he ignored it and nodded. Kakashi seemed to smile before motioning the man to follow and leading the way to the Hokage Tower.

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"Lady Tsunade. You need to look at the documents that the Kazekage sent," Shizune chastised the leader of Konohagakure no Sato. Ever since Neji had brought her the news of Naruto's disappearance, Tsunade had ignored almost everything. Sakura, outside the office, sighed at the Godaime's behavior as she sent away another person who wanted to see the village leader. The doors opened again.

"Lady Tsunade is currently in an emergency meeting," Sakura said, not looking up. "She will not be able to see anyone until it is over. Please come back later."

"I think that she'll see us," a familiar voice drawled. Sakura's head shot up at the voice. There was Kakashi, Neji, Kiba, with Akamaru, and a man she didn't recognize.

"You're right, she will since the emergency meeting sent you out," the kunoichi agreed as she led them into the room. "Lady Tsunade, you're search team has returned."

That woke Tsunade up. "Did you find anything?" she asked anxiously, not noticing the fourth, nervous member. He tried to slip out again but Akamaru and Kiba blocked his way. That was when the master healer took notice of him. "And who did you bring with you?"

"A man who might have some clues as to the whereabouts of our missing ANBU commander," Neji answered, watching the man with his Byakugan.

"Why do you believe that?" Kakashi cleared his throat.

"After we arrived at the place where Neji found the bloody hitae-ate, I had my ninja dogs join Akamaru in finding a trail. The only trail led back to the village. We returned to the clearing and Kiba found a bloody kunai in a tree." Kiba threw the kunai to the Hokage, which she deftly caught.

"Let me guess; this kunai belongs to him," she stated, gesturing to the man with the blade. The three members of the impromptu search team nodded. "I see…Kiba, Akamaru. Please step away. And you are…?"

"W-w-watabe T-t-taro, Lady Hokage," the man stuttered.

"Watabe-san. I'm sure that you have gathered that we are missing one of our ANBU commanders. But the odd thing is that he had just completed a mission and has not received another."

"Hokage-sama, please pardon my interruption, but what does this have to do with me? Maybe…he was a spy for an enemy country, or…or maybe he became a missing nin…or…"

"Shut up!" Tsunade roared. Watabe immediately clammed up. "He was no spy; he lived here all his life and I knew his parents. Neither did he turn missing nin; he loved this village, wanted to become Hokage after me. Don't you _dare_ tell me otherwise!"

Watabe wisely stayed silent in fear of the angry Godaime. "Well, now that you know why you're here, mind telling us why we found one of your kunai with the blood of our missing ANBU commander on it?" Kakashi asked seriously.

"I-I-I don't know why there is blood of an ANBU commander on it. There was a threat to the village…I attacked it to protect my village…" he trailed off, noticing that his audience did not look convinced.

"Really? I don't recall receiving any report that contained anything about there being a threat in the village. Shizune, Sakura. Did you receive any report stating that there was a threat in the village?"

Both medic-nin apprentices gave a negative answer.

"Hmm…how about you three?"

Again, a negative answer.

"That's odd. Tell me, why was no one informed of this threat? And, I believe that, as Hokage, I must give the orders for the threat to be removed."

"E-e-every…everyone knew of the threat, Lady Hokage. We…_I_ felt that the treat was…getting too strong…"

"Why wasn't this matter brought to my attention?" Tsunade bellowed. "As stated in our laws; all suspicions of a threat must be brought to the Hokage. If the suspicions are proven true, the Hokage must give the order for the threat to be removed. This 'threat', regardless of the fact that it was known, was not brought to my attention. Not only that, but I did not give any orders for any elimination in the village. Now, tell me what this threat was and why I was not told!"

Watabe seemed to lose some of his fright at the demands. "You were not told because we believed that you would ignore the suspicion; like the Sandaime. We reported the threat several times but the Sandaime always tossed them aside. You were his student. We had no doubt that you would do the same thing."

"Whether or not I ignored the suspicion is irrelevant as is the fact that my Jounin instructor was the third Hokage. He only taught me the skills of a ninja, same as every other Jounin. Not to mention, he was not the Hokage then and therefore did not teach me how to run a village. Now, _who was this threat_?"

"It wasn't a human, it was a demon." The two adults stiffened at the proclamation. "It was that damn fox-demon that the Sandaime always protected," he spat. Akamaru attacked the man at the mention of the fox demon. Kiba made no move to stop his partner as he was trying to keep himself from ripping the man apart with his bare hands. He was so busy restraining himself that he failed to notice that almost everyone else was shaking in barely contained rage. Tsunade was the first to recover.

"Akamaru, let go," she ordered. The dog obeyed after a moment more of biting. She then turned to Watabe, her eyes cold. "Watabe Taro, by my order as the fifth Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, you are under arrest on charges of attacking a citizen of Konohagakure no Sato without cause; for failing to report a suspected threat to the Hokage and for attacking that suspected threat without leave of the Hokage," she proclaimed. Watabe stuttered in rage at the charges but was ignored as the blond woman turned to the eldest Jounin.

"Kakashi, I trust that you will be able to get information from him." The silver haired Jounin nodded, his eye glittering. Tsunade then turned to her black haired apprentice.

"Shizune, please draft two letters; one to the Kazekage and his siblings and the other to that idiot Jiraiya. I want them to know what has happened and request for their help in finding Naruto." The girl nodded and left to begin the letters.

The Godaime then turned to the final three. "Sakura, Kiba, Neji. Go get the remaining Konoha 12, the Jounin instructors included, as well as Iruka. I want them in here ASAP."

"Hai!"

Kakashi began to lead (drag) Watabe out of the room, conversationally saying, "I hope that you're forthcoming in truthful answers. Well, actually, you had better be forthcoming with the truth; otherwise I'll have to ask Anko and Ibiki to get the answers out of you."

He was rewarded with a shudder of fear. No one wanted to be questioned by the sadist kunoichi or scarred head of interrogation; actually, they _never_ wanted to have _anything_ to do with either of them. The reaction pleased the Jounin to no end. The others in the room heard the comment and chuckled darkly. They knew he would do it. They then jumped out the window and split up to get everyone Tsunade wanted to see.


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

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**Chapter 2: Learning of a Disappearance of Person and Memories **

When they split up, Neji headed to a nearby training field where he could sense his cousin, Hinata, his former teammate, Tenten, and his cousin's other teammate, Aburame Shino. Two were in the middle of a spar and likely to ignore anyone who would tell them to stop. He didn't waste his breathe; instead he landed between the weapons mistress and bug user. The two stopped almost immediately.

"Neji! What are you doing? We were in the middle of a fight!" Tenten yelled. The branch member of the Hyuuga clan glared at her.

"It can wait. Tsunade-sama wants to see all of you right away." The two girls blinked in confusion while Shino summoned his destruction bugs back to him. The three then nodded to him before they sped off to the Hokage Tower. Neji watched as they disappeared from normal view before running off in search of the two green beasts of Konoha.

He found both in a different field than the first three he found. Unsurprisingly, they were training. Once more, he landed between the two sparring.

"Ah, Neji! It is so youthful to see you today!" Maito Gai exclaimed, not seeming to mind the interruption. Rock Lee nodded vigorously in agreement.

"How true, my eternal rival! What brings you here on this young day?"

"Tsunade-sama wants to see both of you immediately, Gai, Lee." The answer surprised both the former student and teacher but they quickly recovered. They both nodded to the Jounin before the three of them began to run to the Hokage Tower.

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Kiba jumped off the roof, following the scent of his former sensei, Yuuhi Kurenai. If the smell of cigarette smoke was any indicator, she was out with team 10's former sensei, Sarutobi Asuma. He paused, coming to an intersection. Now he could also smell Akimichi Chouji, and the scent was much more recent than the two senseis. However, he found that wherever the large Jounin was going it was in the same direction of the other two.

Akamaru barked, reminding his human that they had a mission. The Inuzuka nodded and continued to follow the three scents.

A moment later, Kiba and Akamaru found themselves outside a barbeque restaurant. He wasn't surprised to find that Chouji's scent ended here; the guy loved barbeque. However, Kurenai and Asuma's scents also ended here. He quickly shrugged it off and entered the smoky building.

The brunet had no trouble finding the three. Despite all the smoke in the room, Kiba could easily pick out the smoke from the cigarette. Walking toward the two former senseis, he spotted Chouji at the bar with a huge plate of ribs in front of him. Rolling his eyes, the Inuzuka motioned for Akamaru to go to Kurenai as he went to get the Akimichi.

"Oi, ya gonna share?" the dog speaker asked as he stole a rib. The other watched, annoyed, as the other devoured the rib.

"You're paying for that," the larger boy informed him.

"Fine," he shrugged as he stood. "Oh, just so you know, Hokage-sama wants you at the tower in the next five minutes."

"What? But I just started eating!"

"Not my problem. Later." The man listened, amused, as the expansion-jutsu user walked out, grumbling. Shaking his head at the mention of chips, the tan Jounin made his way over to his partner.

"Konnichiwa, Kurenai, Asuma," he greeted as he came to a stop next to the table.

"Konnichiwa, Kiba. I was wondering if Akamaru had ran away from you when he came over here," the red eyed kunoichi teased. The two males chuckled.

"No, he didn't. Even if he did, he would probably run to Hinata. Actually, I sent him over here because we were looking for you. I hope that we're not interrupting anything but the Hokage needs to see you both right away." Both Jounin blinked before standing with a nod. A moment later, they were jumping from roof to roof toward the Hokage Tower. Kiba quickly followed the path of the other Jounin with Akamaru beside him.

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Landing in front of a popular flower shop, Sakura was glad to see that there were only two members of the former team 10 were there. Stepping in, she was immediately greeted by the blond kunoichi, Yamanaka Ino. Before the other could ask her why she was here, the pink haired kunoichi spoke.

"I'm not here to buy, Ino. Right now Tsunade-hime wants both you and Shikamaru in her office."

"Troublesome," the lazy genius, Nara Shikamaru, muttered as he stood up and made his way to the door. Ino yelled for someone to watch the store before following her former teammate. Sakura watched then for a moment before heading to the Uchiha complex.

She found the last Uchiha in Konoha in one of the many training areas. The raven haired ANBU commander gave no indication that he knew he had a visitor, continuing to feed the fireball in front of him chakra.

"Sasuke?" she called cautiously, not wanting to get fried. The ANBU commander gave her no sign that he had heard her but she did notice that the fireball was beginning to shrink. Knowing that it was safe, the medic-nin gave her message. "Sasuke, Tsunade-hime wants you at the tower now."

"Hn" was the only reply as the fireball disappeared and the training area was empty. Sakura soon followed the others example only, instead of going to the Hokage Tower, headed to the Ninja Academy. Walking quickly through the academy's halls, she came to her old classroom where she could hear her old teacher yelling at someone. Opening the door, she found the Chuunin instructor arguing with one of the students. Quelling the curiosity of what they were arguing about, she stepped into the room and placed a hand on the students shoulder, quieting him and gaining everyone's attention.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your lesson, Iruka-sensei. I hope that the lesson isn't for anything important but I was sent by Tsunade-hime. She requests for your presence in the Hokage Tower immediately." Iruka nodded at the message.

"Arigato, Sakura. Class, the homework for tonight is to complete that packet I gave you earlier by tomorrow. And don't forget that we have a test coming up so be sure to study. Dismissed." All of the ninja-in-training groaned at the homework but quickly ran out. The Jounin and Chuunin followed their example a moment later, and arrived at the Hokage Tower. Iruka blinked at the number of people in the office and blinked again when he noticed who they were. They were all talking amongst themselves, wondering why they had been summoned. They quieted a moment later when Tsunade came in.

"Sorry for interrupting your breaks but something has happened and I need all of you to help," she said gravely, causing all to look at her worriedly and curiously. Taking a deep breath, she cut right to the chase. "Naruto has gone missing."

At the news, calls of disbelief and outrage broke out. Tsunade let them yell for a moment before she snapped, "Shut the hell up and I'll explain!" They quickly obeyed. "Naruto failed to come to me to give a mission report and Neji went searching for him. However, he couldn't find Naruto. I summoned Kiba and Kakashi, who also searched and only came up with a kunai with Naruto's blood on it…"

"He was attacked?" Shino clarified. The Godaime nodded. "By who?"

"We are not yet completely sure. However, a second scent on the kunai led them to one of the attackers, a man by the name of Watabe Taro. Kakashi is currently interrogating him."

"But why did they attack Naruto?" Ino asked. "I mean, he's loud and annoying but he's loyal to this village and is one of the best ANBU. That's no reason to attack."

"I didn't get it either," Kiba said. "Watabe only said something about getting 'too strong' and never said Naruto's name. When he finally did answer who was attacked, he said that he attacked a fox demon, not a human." The adults immediately understood what the man meant but said nothing.

"Naruto does seem a bit like a fox with the whisker marks and mischief he causes with his pranks but that doesn't make him a demon," Tenten said, outraged. The others were about to continue speculating the reason when the Godaime interrupted them.

"We are trying to figure it out. However, a more pressing matter is to find Naruto and those who attacked him. Shikamaru, you, Ino and Sakura will try to identify who these attackers were if Watabe doesn't give any names…" All three nodded at the task.

"Sasuke, I would like you to punish the attackers." Sasuke also nodded with a smirk.

"Also, I will periodically send you out to search for Naruto. Shizune is drafting letters to the Kazekage and Jiraiya, telling them of his disappearance and requesting for their help in searching. I have no doubt that they will. For now, search the village and surrounding area for any clue of what happened. Report either back here or at the hospital. Got it?"

"Hai!"

"Good. Now get!" All the shinobi disappeared from the office in a flurry of leaves. Tsunade sighed, praying that Naruto was alright, wherever he was.

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**Somewhere in the Fire Country**

Miles away from Konoha a girl dressed in an overlarge black ANBU uniform rested in a cave. She had blood on her clothes and skin, yet there wasn't a wound on her. She began to stir but didn't wake up, deciding to remain asleep. However, that wasn't what her mind decided.

_**Dream Sequence**_

_Her eyes opened to find herself lying in the middle of a dark hallway. Sitting up and looking around, she thought that this place was familiar but she couldn't remember where she had seen it. Standing up carefully, she decided to try to find a way out of here and began walking. She could sense a presence in the halls and decided to go look for that person, since they would probably know the way out. She did notice that there was a lot of power around the presence but she got the feeling that they wouldn't harm her._

_After walking for awhile, she came to the entrance of a large room. She hesitated in the doorway, seeing a figure in the middle of the room. Their back was toward her and the girl soon noticed that this person was the one she had be looking for. Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the room._

"_{Hello?}" she called softly. The figure jumped slightly and turned to face her._

"_{{I didn't think that you would be up so soon, kit,}}" the figure, a woman, commented coming over to the girl. She was tall; just a few centimeters shy of 200 centimeters (AN: approximately 6.5 feet) with long crimson red hair that fell to her knees. She wore blood red pants, which made it hard to see where her hair ended, and an ebony shirt. Around her waist was a red-orange obi that held a katana on her hips. As she stepped closer to the girl, she could see her face better. The facial structure was softly angled, making her look aristocratic, while three scratches on each cheek made her look slightly feral. Her ruby eyes seemed to glow in the dim light, giving her a bit of a demonic look but the girl was not scared._

"_{Do I know you?}" the girl asked somewhat timidly. The woman nodded._

"_{{Yes, you do kit.}}"_

"_{Then, why don't I remember you? I can't remember anything…}"_

_The woman was now in front of the girl and knelt to embrace her as tears began to flow. "{{Don't cry kit. I'll explain why you don't remember. Alright?}}" The girl nodded. "{{Good. Let's sit; explaining might take awhile.}}"_

_After some shifting the two got comfortable. The woman was sitting on the floor with her back against the wall and the girl curled up on her lap. For a moment they were silent before the woman spoke again. "{{My name is Hitomi though most know me as Kyuubi no Kitsune or Kyuubi no Youko. I am the nine-tailed fox demon and the Empress of Demons.}}"_

"_{A demon?}" the girl yelled in alarm. She began to struggle to get out of the demon's grip but was unsuccessful as the demon was much stronger._

"_{{Calm down, kit. I won't hurt you. You know that.}}" Slowly, the girl calmed as she realized the truth to those words. "{{Good kit. I will never intentionally hurt you. I promise.}}"_

"_{…Strangely enough, I trust you…}"_

"_{{I'm glad. Now let me explain…}}"_

"_{{Years ago I was a free demon but, somehow, someone was able to control my body and forced me to attack a shinobi village. I was unable to regain control and could only watch as shinobi died fighting my body. The village was nearly destroyed when the village Kage sealed me into his newborn child. That child was you, kit.}}"_

"_{Me? But…why me…?}"_

"_{{I don't know. Perhaps he thought that you would be able bear the burden. He also knew that no one would willingly give up their child. Ever since you were born, I have been within you kit.}}" The girl was silent, absorbing what she was being told._

"_{What about my mother? You haven't said anything about her.}"_

"_{{From what I was able to gather, she died in child birth. But I'm sure that she would have stayed with you or tried to dissuade your father from using you as the one I was sealed in.}}"_

"_{And my father and the village? Did they survive?}"_

"_{{The seal your father used took all of his energy and, therefore, his life. I did not know of his death until twelve years had passed. But when I did know, I prayed for his soul. He was one of the few humans that have earned my respect. Few humans would sacrifice their life and child without some other force pressuring them. The village, while damaged, was rebuilt. You lived there.}}"_

"_{I don't live there now?}"_

"_{{No. Ever since that night that I attacked the village and was sealed in you, the villagers would look at you and see the demon that attacked the village. They would harm you. Last night, they nearly…killed you. At the edge of death, I offered you a way to live and start over. You took it.}}"_

"_{How did you save me?}" the girl asked curiously. The nine-tails looked away. "{Please, tell me; I won't be mad. You said that you offered and I accepted. That's enough for me. I might be shocked but I can accept it. Please tell me…Okaa-san.}" At the last word, Hitomi snapped her head around to stare at the girl._

"_{{What did you call me…?}}"_

"_{Okaa-san.}"_

"_{{But…I'm not her. So, why…?}}"_

_The girl looked away. "{My mother is dead as is my father. By the sound of it, I had no one in the village. By the sound of it, no one cared about me. But you care about me…care about me enough to save my life. Isn't that what a mother is supposed to do?}" Her voice got softer as she spoke, unsure if that was true and if Hitomi would be fine with being called mother. A hand then reached under her chin and forced her to meet ruby eyes. She was stunned; there were tears in the ruby eyes yet she was smiling._

"_{{Thank you kit. The night that I was sealed into you, I lost the hope to have my own kits to raise. But…I still want to have kits…and if you want me to…I will be your mother.}}" The girl nodded, smiling, and hugged her. They stayed like that for a moment before the girl pulled away._

"_{So, can you please tell me how you saved me?}"_

_Hitomi sighed. "{{I merged with you, kit. Before last night, you contained me; like how a cup contains water. The merge made us into the same being; I am you, you are me. You are no longer a human with a demon within you; you are a hanyou, a half-demon.}}"_

_The girl was silent before cuddling into the other. Hitomi was surprised but held the girl close._

"_{…Thank you…}" The words were said softly; so softly that the demoness nearly missed them. She blinked down at the girl, but she didn't say any more on the matter. "{Okaa-san…what was my name? I don't mind you calling me 'kit' but I would like to have an actual name for others to call me by.}"_

_The nine-tails blinked and then smiled gently. "{{Before we merged, you used your mother's clan name, Uzumaki. Also before the merge, you were…a male. The merge remade your body to be similar to me…it changed your gender.}}"_

"_{What was my given name?}"_

"_{{You're not stunned or angry that you were changed into a female?}}" Hitomi asked incredulously._

"_{Should I be? I don't remember anything before I came in here. We have no idea how long I'll be without my memories, so why dwell on what I don't remember? So, what was my given name?}" the girl asked again._

"_{{…Naruto. Your name was Uzumaki Naruto…Why do you want to know, kit?}}"_

"_{To choose a new name that's similar to my old one. Do you have any ideas, Okaa-san?}"_

"_{{Why not…Natsuri? The hiragana characters are from the same lines in your old name. And you don't let anything get you down, which is why you would use the character for 'summer' in your name. For a clan name…you can use your father's instead of your mother's. He was from the Namikaze clan.}}"_

"_{Namikaze Natsuri…}" the girl said, testing out the name. "{I like it. Arigato, Okaa-san.}"_

"_{{Your welcome, kit. Now, why don't you go to sleep? You're probably still tired from the merging and I won't tolerate you falling asleep when I'm teaching you about your new abilities.}}"_

"_{Hai, Okaa-san,}" Natsuri yawned before she closed her eyes and fell asleep. Hitomi watched the girl sleep, smiling, before she too, fell asleep._

_**End Dream Sequence**_

**

* * *

**

**That Night; Konohagakure no Sato**

"Have you found anything?"

"Nothing, Lady Hokage. It seems he just disappeared into thin air."

"Damn! Stop for tonight. Tomorrow, I'll send out two teams to search the Fire Country. Now get some sleep."

"Hai!" The seventeen disappeared and the Hokage looked at a picture of the person who she considered a little brother.

"Naruto, please be alright. Come back…"


End file.
